In protecting minor cuts, scratches, abrasions, and similar injuries, particularly on a temporary, self-treatment basis, the use of the so-called self-adhesive bandage has become widespread. Bandages of the self-adhesive type basically involve a length of adhesive tape with a pad of gauze, or similar material, located in the center portion thereof, the whole being covered by a separable layer of "release" paper which preserves the sterility of the gauze, and renders the adhesive properties of the tape inoperative until the paper is removed prior to application of the bandage. Such bandages come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are both inexpensive and easy to apply, which helps to account for their widespread popularity.
One drawback exhibited by such bandages, however, stems from the fact that the gauze portion of the bandage tends to become saturated with the natural exudate from the wound, and as the latter dries, it tends to form an adherent bond between the bandage and the wound. When an attempt is subsequently made to remove the bandage, the result is not only painful, but the wound protecting incrustation, or scab, is often torn from the wound, making the wound vulnerable to infection.
In an attempt to avoid the problem, it has been proposed to reduce the affinity of the gauze for the wound fluids, for example, by forming the gauze from hydrophobic, non-wetting, fibers, particularly synthetic fibers. Unfortunately, such attempts have not totally resulted in avoiding unwanted adherency, due to the tendency of the wound fluids to penetrate around the fibres, into the interior of the gauze. There, the fluids tend to solidify, creating the objectionable bond referred to. It has also been proposed to substitute sheets of hydrophobic materials, rather than gauze adjacent to the wound surface to avoid formation of the adhesive bonds. However, due at least in part to surface irregularities, which also tend to facilitate formation of the bonds referred to, the use of such materials has not been totally successful.